How to Get a Smaller Waist

Is this not what every athlete, person in the world wants is a small waist? So what must we do to get this prized goal sweat a bucket of perspiration or starve ourselves for 6 months? There needs to be a balanced but common sense approach to reach this goal. A way that we know we are working out but not going to absurd proportions to get there. A good combination would be to engage in a healthy workout while maintaining a wholesome and healthy diet. There are all types of tried and untried theories on the internet on how to get a smaller waist. On the other hand we don’t want to get a waist so small we cannot see it anymore. There needs to be balance in all we do in regards to this. Let’s see how.

You better face the uncomfortable reality but you are going to have to change some unhealthy eating styles. So, they say that exercise alone will not help you to lose the weight required to get a smaller waist. You need to add a dietary change to your lifestyle as well. You need to stick to a daily regime to lose the calories to reach your goal. One popular piece of advice in health circles today is to get a personal trainer. (if you can afford one) The trainer will help you keep track of calorie intake on a daily basis. You will need to be patient and determined and you will have to be very disciplined. Additionally, you will need to reduce calorie intake and make wise food choices.

Method:

For instance, in academic research, subjects who consumed only whole grains (plus five portions of fruits and vegetables, three portions of reduced-fat dairy, and two portions of low-fat meat, fish, or poultry) removed more belly baggage than other subjects who consumed the equivalent diet, but with only polished grains. Keep in mind that fruits contain natural sugar, so overloading your consumption of fruits everyday will inhibit your weight loss journey.

Remember for you to shed a pound of flesh, you need to reduce about 3500 calories from the food diet.Nutritional experts say that the best level of reasonable weight reduction is a couple of pounds on a weekly basis, so it is not advised that you make yourself go hungry or follow the latest quick scheme diets to shed weight more quickly. Follow your trainer’s instructions. If you hire a personal trainer the key is to do what they instruct you to do. They are the experts you are not. This is why you hired them so they could help you lose weight and slim that waist down.

It starts with the Morning Meal

You would be wise to jumpstart your morning with a healthy and balanced breakfast. This is one of the best things you can ever do to lose weight on the journey to a smaller waist. This will also get your body to burn off more calories during the day and it will keep you fuller throughout the day. This will help you to cut down on the snacks you at throughout the day. The more you eat the more calorie intake you will have and the weight will pack on your body instead of leaving it.

Method:

Eat filling whole grain cereals in conjunction breads, protein-rich eggs and high-vitamin fruits for the ideal rounded out breakfast. If you are in a hurry snag a fruit smoothie and a cereal breakfast bar for practical but a good type of filling.

Drink a glass of water before breakfast (and before lunch and dinner) this will stop the body from mixing up thirst with hunger, because you will end up eating more than you should and here comes the extra baggage. Additionally,you will keep hydrated, this is key. Remember you are the only that can do this and no one will force you to follow up on your weight loss goal.

Some Fat is Alright to Consume

Many potential dieters go the extreme of not eating any fat at all but this is a misconception. But eating a certain amount of fats is essential for a balanced diet and it will help you lose weight. It really is alright to eat some fats really! Some studies suggest that a diet with a higher amount monounsaturated (From a chemical standpoint, monounsaturated fats are simply fat molecules that have one unsaturated carbon bond in the molecule, this is also called a double bond. Oils that contain monounsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature but start to turn solid when chilled.) fats (MUFAs) (avocados, nuts, seeds, soybeans, chocolate) will help to reduce belly fat. Yes chocolate will help to reduce belly fat. This is a shocker isn’t it?

Method:

Polyunsaturated fats(Polyunsaturated fats are lipids in which the constituent hydrocarbon chain possesses two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Polyunsaturated fat can be found mostly in nuts, seeds, fish, seed oils, and oysters.) – this means Omega-3 fatty acids contained in mackerel, salmon, herring, walnuts, canola oil and tofu – are important classes of nutritional fat that you should try to work into the diet. They will aid in lowering nasty cholesterol and enhance cognitive abilities.

But Trans fats, (contained in margarine, crackers, cookies–anything manufactured with any partially hydrogenated oils) will result in excessive fat being added to the abdomen, so you should avoid these as much as you can.

Fiber Out

Fibers are an essential part of a healthy diet because for one thing they keep the bowels in good working order. This will reduce bloating and blockages which will definitely help to get a smaller waist. You will chew fiber like a cow for a long-time but this is beneficial. The longer you take to chew the less you will eat and fibers will keep you fuller for a longer time. This will cause weight loss in the long run.

Good old water is the best choice,because purifies your system, lowers bloating and maintains body hydration. But you find good old old water too repulsive, then consume water with a dash of flavor such as mint leaves, lemon, lime, or maybe throw in a dozen or two of frozen raspberries or make a combination- Use your imagination! Vitamin rich water, or organically sweetened iced teas also make a better option to sodas.

Don’t apply drinking straws. You should never use drinking straws to sip your drinks, because drinking straws can make you inhale more air into your stomach as you sip, causing a bloated and a fatter belly. Drink from the cup in the traditional way instead to prohibit an enlarged stomach or abdomen.

Process out of Those Foods

You will really want to stay away from all processed foods because if you don’t you will look like you ate processed foods. So, if you are working out like a maniac it may still not help to accelerate your weight loss. This is because if you are eating a lot of processed foods you will slow down the weight loss process. Processed foods typically are loaded with sugar and starch elements which hinder weight loss but encourage deadly toxic build up.

Method:

Be very cautious when it comes to food products that are labeled “no-fat”, including cheeses, breads, yogurts, etc. These food products could contain low fat content, but typically they are loaded with tons of sugar and useless carbohydrates, and have really no or little nutritional benefit. Some store bought manufactured organic foods are ok, but be sure to read the food labels looking for nutritional, carbohydrate, and other unhealthy ingredients that may be listed.

Don’t eat processed food products with extreme levels of high salt listed in the ingredients,for instance ready-meals and frozen goods, as the salt leads to water containment with bloating surely to follow. Stick with fresh wherever possible instead of pre-packaged or frozen foods. There really can be no harm in eating frozen foods.

Become a Regular Exerciser

To get a reduced gut and waist you absolutely need to become a disciplined exerciser. You must stick with a daily routine if you want to reduce the size of the waist. Yes, it will take sacrifice and consistency to adhere to a regular exercise routine but it will eventually payoff. You will see less of your waist and more of the floor. After all isn’t this the whole point? Don’t run out of the gates when you start to exercise because if you do you may get discouraged and give up. Ease into any exercise routine and then you can gradually increase your intensity levels.

Method:

To avoid the early burn out as we said before incorporate a reasonable program when you first start out then you can increase the complexity of the routine as you progress. Record your journey in a log so you will be encouraged by your progress.

As time moves along you will find that you can exercise for longer periods of time without experiencing fatigue and you will come to enjoy the physical exertion. You will also see great benefits being derived from your exercising. These benefits will motivate you to keep rolling on.

Full Cardiovascular Workouts

You need to zero in on cardiovascular activities to lose any weight. It is physically impossible to target one specific area of the body to lose weight. So, you have to lose weight all over the body this is your only option to lose weight. This can be done by cardiovascular activities. Get the heart pumping and watch those pounds around the middle fall off.

Method:

You have no reason not to exercise especially when you have options that are effective and economical. For these options you do not a gym membership and they are very effective. The options are cycling, running, walking, or skipping. Get out there and start exercising if you want to reduce that waistline.

Trainers advise you to track your heart rate while performing cardiovascular activities. The best range is low-medium and the best time is right after an endurance event. Good activities are walking outside or hiking on a trail.

You need to workout for 150 minutes at a moderate level of activity or 75 minutes of extensive activity on a weekly basis. If you engage in less cardiovascular it probably will not help you lose weight.

Work the Core Muscles for the Best Results

You need to work out the oblique muscles which run along the stomach. These muscles are critical to losing waist mass. This will cause you to lose weight in the stomach but it will be countered by the stomach building up muscle mass. If this happens the stomach will widen and there goes the small waist. To reduce your waist you need to focus on the transverse and rectus abdominis.

Method:

The transverse abdominis is the natural corset for the body. You work these muscles they will tighten up and slim the waistline down. Try the pilates exercise method it focuses on these muscles and is very effective in reducing the waistline.

Don’t forget to breathe while exercising your core muscles. People become so focused on the right muscle action that they forget to breathe while working the core muscles. This leaves the body tight and stressed. You will feel fatigued faster when this happens.

Do the Proper Waist Shaping Exercise

This means to focus on the right waist shaping exercises to slim down the waistline. You don’t want to waste time doing the wrong exercises. Specifically, you cannot focus on the waist to specifically lose weight but you can concentrate on working the muscles around the midsection.

*Method:

Do what is called the “hundred” exercise in which you lie on the back and lifting the legs up to a 90 degree angle. Next, raise the shoulder blades off the floor with the arms reaching towards the feet. Begin by pumping your arms up and down, and repeat for 100 pumps. Breathe in through the nose for five pumps and out through the mouth for five pumps. As you get stronger, you can start to lower the legs closer to the ground until your legs are only a few inches above the floor. Remember to keep your upper torso lifted off the ground.

Suck in your stomach. Try to keep your stomach sucked in throughout the day, while sitting at your desk, in the car or at the grocery store. This works the stomach muscles, while simultaneously making you look slimmer. Over time, you won’t even notice you’re doing it!

Do sit ups. Lie down on the floor or a yoga mat, and bend your knees while keeping your feet flat on the ground. Cross your arms over your chest. Slowly raise your upper body towards your knees before lowering yourself back down again. Work up to doing three sets of sit ups, with 10-20 repetitions in each set.

Do twist crunches. This requires you to lie on your back and bend your knees up while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Bring your fingers up to touch your ears and slowly contract your abdominal muscles, lifting your torso off the ground. When you’re at the point of feeling you can’t lift your body any further, contract your side muscles and turn gently to the left. Return your torso flat to the floor. Repeat on the right side. Build up to two or three sets of ten to fifteen repetitions each.

Do a plank. Get into the position for doing a push up. Rest on your forearms and keep your eyes to the floor at all times. Pull your stomach muscles in tight, imagining them touching your backbone. As you do this, your bottom should be down and your back straight. Aim to hold this position for about a minute.

Do the side plank. This exercise targets the “muffin top” region of the body. Lie down on a comfortable mat, on your right side. Rest on your right arm and extend your legs outward, placing your left foot on top of your right foot. In this position, slowly lift your pelvis up from the floor. Contract the muscles all around the lower torso, including the lower back and hips. Continue to bear weight on your right forearm and feet. Aim to hold this lift for around 10-15 seconds. Repeat three to five times for each side, or work up to holding the pose for 60 seconds.

Conclusion

Now, you are armed with ways to reduce your waistline and have fun doing it. You need to change your dietary habits and you need to exercise on a routine basis and you will see the desired results in no time-your dream waistline.

Written by Irina Radosevic MD

Irina graduated from the University of Belgrade, School of Medicine as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and spent over 3 years working in the Clinical Hospital Center Zvezdara, in the Department of Emergency Medicine. She also undertook a postgraduate in Cardiology from the same University and had previously worked for over a year as a Physician and Nutritionist Dietitian for the Fitness club Green Zone. She eventually left her chaotic but fulfilling job in the ER to pursue her passion of writing, travelling and mountain climbing which has included writing a first aid course for the alpine club of Belgrade. Irina currently works as a VA for PintMedia focusing on medical and travel writing. Feel free to connect with Irina on LinkedIn and FaceBook. Her CV can be seen here.

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